Shaquielle McKissic came up big but Kostas Papanikolaou’s leadership was vital as Olympiacos overcame FC Barcelona to punch their ticket to the Euroleague Final Four.
Well, this was quite a night. No matter what you like in basketball. No matter who you root for. This was, undoubtedly, a night. Kostas Papanikolaou nailed the final dagger in the heart of FC Barcelona late after Shaquielle McKissic broke their brains. Olympiacos are, once again, off to the Euroleague Final Four.
Kostas Papanikolaou has seen a lot
There have been many clear leaders for Olympiacos over the years. Kostas Papanikolaou has seen several of them. The biggest, of course, was Vassilis Spanoulis. Alongside and somewhat after him came Georgios Printezis. Then, alongside him and indeed Papanikolaou, was Kostas Sloukas.
On the one hand, that’s an extraordinary group to learn leadership from. On the other, it’s quite the shadow to step out of. Printezis always had a Spanoulis or Sloukas, or both. Sloukas always had a Printezis or Papanikolaou. Now, this is unquestionably Papanikolaou’s group to guide on the court.
Against FC Barcelona on Wednesday night he achieved something one of those leaders did before him. Indeed, no-one had done it in Euroleague until about 25 minutes in real time after his own game started. Papanikolaou led Olympiacos to a road win in Game 5 of the playoffs.
This was old school
Those who tuned in late, after the heroics of Nick Calathes in Monaco, may have been taken aback by how late they were. The scoring in the first half was like a tribute to the pre-shot clock era.
This was the type of scenario where having a leader like Kostas Papanikolaou was so important to Olympiacos. They were involved in anything but a normal game against FC Barcelona.
At this moment, while the visible pressure was on Georgios Bartzokas, Papanikolaou knew his role well. He had to keep his men focused on the core goal. Essentially, he had to normalise things. The goal was the same. Get the win and make it to the Euroleague Final Four. Nothing else mattered.
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Picking his moment perfectly
The best player on the night for Olympiacos was undoubtedly Nikola Militunov. The man that broke the game open was clearly Shaquielle McKissic. When it came to ending the game, well, that fell on the leader. Kostas Papanikolaou made his third three of the night to remove doubt from the matter.
Throughout the game, his focus remained impeccable. Papanikolaou never hogged the ball nor did he shirk it. This was a man who knew when to step up and take charge. Similarly, he knew when to enable the more creative forces around him to express themselves.
It was a mastery of measurement. While he’s still only 33 years of age, Papanikolaou has seen every possible outcome in Euroleague. He may yet make a fine coach someday but he’s already a lock to be a brilliant analyst on TV. Yet this was the unknown, a rarity for him. Prior to Wednesday night, there was an inevitable nature to Game 5 scenarios in Euroleague. Now, nothing is inevitable.
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A hardened bunch
It seems odd that the team, at least of the playoff sides, that I have written least about this season is Real Madrid. There was such inevitability to their appearance in Berlin that there was rarely a moment where they were involved in real drama.
Now, the drama is coming to them and it is spearheaded by Kostas Papanikolaou. He, like so many on this Olympiacos roster, remembers how their hearts were broken a year ago. This team has rebuilt itself despite two huge losses in the departures of Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov.
No matter. They have found a way to get back to true elimination basketball. There will be no El Clasico repeat in the Euroleague Final Four. FC Barcelona’s dream is done. It’s time for the men of Piraeus to get working on the next chapter in their story.
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